Before Note- I'm so sorry, guys…I never realized how popular this story would get. I got new favorites and new followers for it EVERY DAY, no lie. And I also got new comments asking me to continue, but I kept saying that I wouldn't post a new chapter until I got everything else done first. But of course, impatience was ensuing…and this was born. Think of it as a chapter present for you guys, a present telling my thanks for liking this story so much, no matter how crazy I could make it seem. I hope you enjoy, it's just some brotherly-love moments between Leo, Donnie, and Raph.

Dislcaimer: TMNT is not mine

The tea kettle was burning with a slight hum as it almost signaled its complete boil. It sat calmly on the stove next to a glass mug that carried a Japanese green tea bag. An emerald, three-fingered hand grabbed the handle of the kettle and switched its position on the burner to make it heat faster, then settled back against the side of a blue bandanna-wearing turtle.

The turtle sighed with much exhaustion, leaning heavily against the counter as he listened to his younger brother's side of their continued conversation.

"But you do agree, don't you, Leo?" Raphael interrogated his older brother, his hand clenched slightly into a fist that rested on the table, "you gotta agree that you think Donnie's hiding something from us and Mikey. Something that obviously has to do with April." Leo exhaled at that statement.

"I don't know…" he answered, "I mean, I admit he does tell me some strange stuff when I mention April to him every time, and I remember seeing her a bit evasive whenever I walked in on the two when I had to give Donnie his meds. But I just don't want to jump in on conclusions yet. Our brother is sick and injured, and I think that's what we have to focus on for now, Raph. To make sure he gets a comfortable and safe recovery."

Raph snorted and gulped down a bit more of his soda.

The two of them had decided to have a late night chat since they both couldn't sleep well, due to their continuous training hours with Master Splinter and the constant worrying of their brother, Donatello. They were at least happy to know that the younger brothers, Donnie and Mikey, were both sleeping peacefully, so they could have this late time of 12:45 to themselves to just talk about current events. This had unfortunately escalated into a slight argument when they decided to have something edible with them while they talked and Raphael chose soda as his option, with Leonardo believing that it wasn't a proper choice to get a good night sleep later on. He had tried coaxing the hothead with some warm tea, but naturally the attempt was futile, so the two just stuck to what they usually drank so that they could both be satisfied.

The tea kettle began to sing in its high whistle, showing that the water was ready. Leo grabbed the hot kettle by the handle and poured the tea into the mug. Waiting for the water to turn the color of the tea bag inside, he turned to Raph. "And what does it matter if he's hiding something? He's our brother, Raph. He's bound to tell us sooner or later…IF he was in fact hiding something. You just gotta be patient with him, though. Don't pressure the truth outta him, he's been through a lot lately. Wait until he's ready to say what's on his mind, then you'll know if he's actually keeping a secret or not."

The red-banded turtle narrowed his eyes. "So he IS hiding something," he concluded, "hangin' out with April so much, being a lot more quiet than he usually is…hanging out with you." His last detail was added with a touch of quietness.

Leo sighed for the umpteenth time. He rubbed some of the knotted pain he had in his neck that was bothering him ever since he's been caring for Donatello. Being the elder brother and leader of three wild followers was very stressful, yet durable for him.

"…I don't know, Raph," he answered. He began to stir his tea with an absent mind. "It's just we shouldn't go straight to what we think's the truth and—" With a sudden start, he faltered when he suddenly evaluated Raph's last sentence: Hanging out with you…

"Wait a second. What do you mean I hang out with him?" With his now-complete green tea forgotten, he set it down on the table as he waited to hear what his brother had to say.

Rolling his eyes and snickering, Raph continued. "Oh, c'mon, Fearless. You know what I mean. You've been buddying up so much with Donnie-boy ever since he got hurt that night. Don't deny it."

Leo gave him an unbelieving stare. "No, I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you should care to explain more." His sapphire eyes narrowed into a glare at his younger brother.

Raph returned Leo's expression with a smirk. "Alright, I will. It's like you've been having so much fun with Donnie that it's almost like you've completely forgotten that you have two other brothers. I mean, it's all just because he got injured and stuff that you suddenly become his best friend and always do anything for him."

"WHAT?"

Raph suddenly stood from the table and stomped over to where Leo stood, getting so close to his face that their beaks almost touched. "The fact that you're with him almost all the time tells me that you know something. He must've told you, or else you and him wouldn't be so evasive around me and Mikey."

Leo couldn't believe a single word that escaped from Raph's mouth. How could he even think about this notion? It didn't even make sense to him! And it also showed that Raph didn't trust him as much as a brother should.

"What?!" Leo retorted almost in a shout, "How could even say that?! That's really crazy, Raph! This ridiculous thought that you have in your head needs to be forgotten, because it isn't true! If I hang around Donnie a lot, it's because he NEEDS me! He needs ALL of us, Raph! He's hurt and sick and he needs his brothers to be there for him. And I'm willing to take up on that job, mostly because I'm the oldest here and the leader, which means I look after you! I care and love all of you, and it may look like I'm giving Donnie more attention, only because he needs it because of the things he did to save himself and our best friend! You need to understand that I don't do this out of attentiveness and gaining jealousy, I do it out of love. I love Donnie…so much. I love you and Mikey too; you're all my brothers. And if you wanted the attention I was apparently giving to Donnie, then you should've just asked, because you trying to hide it up with a pointless lie isn't your strongest."

"It ISN'T a lie!" Raph yelled in Leo's face, his bright green eyes flaring to match his anger, "All I want is the truth! Has Donnie been telling you anything behind our backs or not?! You two seriously have been together so long that you might as well just share a bed!"

Leo was dangerously close to going beyond his sane level of anger.

"Raph, don't you even dare—"

CRASH!

The two both stopped their heated argument in time to hear a sickening noise that sounded like a glass breaking against the floor. What followed soon after the noise was way worse.

"SHREDDER! NO, PLEASE STOP! DON'T….AAAAAHHH!"

Leo and Raph stared at each other for a considerate time, their eyes wide when they both at the same time easily knew who the distressed voice belonged to.

"SOMEBODY….PLEASE HELP ME! "

THUD.

"Donnie!"

The leader and the hothead raced together to the kitchen entrance and into the common room, then sprinted into the hallway where the turtles' bedrooms were. They burst open Donnie's door, which where the racket was obviously coming from. They both gasped at what they saw.

Donatello was shivering intensely and curled into a fetal position on the floor next to his bed. The glass of water that Raph had given him earlier was shattered into pieces and leaking water. Donnie's head lay in the shallow pool, while his hands and his fine arm were bleeding with small cuts, which easily must've been from the stray glass pieces spread around his body.

His eyes were closed, but he acted as if he was wide awake, terror completely inflicting him as he nearly flailed his hand into another nearby piece of glass.

"Donnie, no!"

Leo rushed across the room and made it to his little brother's side in quick time. He inspected Donnie's condition: his casts were still tightly wrapped on his arm and leg, but his shoulder…the wound must've reopened when he supposedly fell from the bed, because blood was seeping through the bandage and stained the floor from where it lay. His glass cuts may've been a new and minor problem, but it still added on to the stress Leo had in tending to his brother.

"Donnie?" he said worriedly. He gently shook the purple-banded turtle to try to awaken him from the apparent intense nightmare he was having, but he couldn't seem to arouse his brother from his slumber. In fact, it only seemed to make it worse. Donnie hollered in reaction.

"STOP, SHREDDER! PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS!"

Leo picked Donnie up from under his shell and held him close to his plastron. His previous anger completely forgotten, he turned his head to Raphael.

"Raph, go get some paper towels for the water and a bowl to put the pieces of glass in. Then reheat the water in the kettle to make Donnie some tea, okay?" Same as Leo, with what they were arguing about earlier gone from his mind, Raphael nodded his head once before rushing out of the room to put his orders to action.

"Unnnh….L-Leo…"

Leo looked attentively down at his unconscious brother. Despite all the warmth that the leader was giving him, he still shivered ferociously in his arms. Grabbing a blanket from his bed nearby, he wrapped Donnie in it and held him tighter, trying his best not to get himself or his brother cut by any of the smaller glass pieces around them.

Donnie started again. "Leo…Raph….Shredder, he has me and Mikey…" Leo honestly had no idea what Donnie was experiencing in his dream, but he easily sensed that it wasn't good, nor that he should be delved in it any longer. He gently rocked his brother back and forth in his arms, trying his best to calm him down.

"Donnie…" he whispered lightly to the techno turtle, "It's okay. It's just a dream. I'm right here, Donnie. Just please wake up…"

"No…no, please….somebody help…Leo…LEO! NO! SHREDDER!...D-DON'T HURT LEO!" Donnie began bursting intensely to try to escape Leo's comforting grip, alarming Leo all the more. He thrashed wildly, trying his very best despite his pain to break free of what Leo was oblivious about, but soon discovered he was making it worse afterwards: Shredder holding him down.

"Let go of me, Shredder, please! Just stop…!...NO!" The more Donnie lashed around, the tighter Leo's hold was to prevent his little brother from harming himself any further. He knew he was making it worse there also. Hanging on tighter would only give Donnie more of the notion that Shredder had him in his clutches.

Leonardo was running out of options. His brother was getting worse, and he couldn't seem to wake him from this terrible nightmare he didn't deserve to have. Breathing heavily, he hugged Donnie close to him as tight as he could, not caring that it frightened the poor turtle, and rubbed circles the younger turtle's back. He then planted a small kiss on the purple turtle's forehead, his last methods of comfort put into effect.

Donnie began to cry. Leo held him tighter and soothed his brother with gentle shushes and words.

"Shhhh…it's okay. Anata wa bujidesu, my little brother. You're gonna be okay. There is no Shredder. You're safe at home, with your brothers and father. You're safe with your family…you're safe with me…" It crushed him inside to hear Donnie continue to sob, wishing that there was any way to mentally get to his brother to calm him down and set things straight. Not only did it make him upset to know he couldn't help him, it had also made him angry at the same time. Angry at the ones who made him like this in the first place. Angry at the Purple Dragons. Those goons were going to pay with t b bvheir lives once Leo ever got a hold of them…

"Leo…"

Curiosity abound, the addressed turtle gazed down and was pretty surprised at what he saw.

Donatello had awoken. The purple turtle's big brown eyes were foggy and dripping wet with leftover tears. He tried to focus them on his older brother's sapphire ones to be sure he knew who he was seeing. Once his vision cleared, he began to relax. "Leo…what happened…?"

Relief had washed over Leo like a wave. He was overjoyed to see his brother's eyes again and to know he was okay…or at least as okay as he could be at the moment. He sighed happily and brought Donnie close to his chest, stroking the smart turtle's head with care.

"It doesn't matter, Donnie. What matters is that you're awake and okay…" The elder turtle felt as if he were in a bad dream of his own. Watching his brother in so much pain, and he didn't know what to do, or how to stop it…some leader he was. But all he cared about at the moment was Donnie, and Donnie only. It was because of Donatello that his nightmares were being chased away. It was because of Donnie that—

"Hey, Leo. I got the stuff."

Leonardo turned and watched attentively as Raphael emerged from the open doorway into the dark room, carrying and assortment of items with him. The bowl he needed for the stray glass pieces was gripped tightly in his hand by the rim while the hot cup of tea and the many paper towels were in the other. He kneeled next to his two brothers and set the bowl on the floor, handing Leo the cup and proceeding to clean up the mess.

The blue turtle watched his brother for a while before turning his attention back to Donnie. The poor turtle was breathing heavily, as if he were having trouble breathing like normal. Leo calmed him down and held the rim of the cup to Donnie's lips.

"Alright, Donnie. Drink some of this. It should help a little."

With a little hesitance, the younger turtle finally obeyed. Leo hugged him close as he slowly poured the warm, scented liquid down his brother's dry throat, feeding him like a helpless baby. As the sick turtle drank, his eyes closed, the leader looked back up at Raphael, who was unintentionally watching the two the whole time while he tidied up. When he found Leo's gaze, he awkwardly looked back down at his work as if he didn't see his brother staring. This made Leo smile.

"Raph…"

"…Yeah?"

It took Leo a while until he replied again. "I love you."

Raph's pinky had almost been scraped and slashed open by a large piece of glass as he froze in surprise slightly. He gave his older brother a sideways glance, who continued to smile at him warmly. Raph then understood what Leo was trying to convey. The fight they had earlier, Raphael feeling secretly heartbroken by how Leonardo always spent time with Donatello. But he realized that Leo was simply trying to finish the argument, trying to put Raph's beliefs to rest. He knew Leo had really cared for their little brother ever since he was injured, thinking this as he watched Leo continuing to give small sips of the tea to Donnie, who once again looked to be asleep. But he also just knew that no matter how much attention the leader gave to the scientist, he would always give his love for his other two brothers, even if he didn't show it as much.

The slight tinge of anger Raphael still held inside from earlier had finally disappeared. His blazing green eyes found Leo's and seemed to soften. A tiny smile formed on his face.

"Love ya too, bro." Leo nodded.

After a few more minutes, the spilled mess was completely gone. Raph began to stand and threw the used towels into the nearby trash can and held the bowl filled with glass pieces to his chest.

"Alright…" he yawned absently, "Night, cheif."

At first he didn't say anything more once he walked by Leo and supposedly out of the room. Leo was about to turn back to Donnie, but almost jumped when he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that Raph had his eyes trained on Donnie the whole time.

"Make sure he gets better, Leo…"

Leo grinned at him. "I will…I promise."

"Good. 'Cause if you don't, be expecting a shell kicking later on."

"I'll keep that in mind," Leo replied with a chuckle.

Raph nodded and made his way out the room, the sound of clacking glass pieces following him.

Leonardo turned his attention back to Donnie, who had gulped down half the tea in the cup. Leo pulled the rim away from his lips and set the steaming cup beside his leg, using the hand that he held the cup in the caress Donnie's face.

"You feel better, Donnie?"

"...Yeah…" Donnie croaked, blinking away tears. Leo wiped them away with his thumb.

Looking up at the vacant bed to his brother's shoulder wound, he began to think that sleeping in his bed by himself wasn't the best idea, especially since after what had just happened. Leo wanted to make sure his brother will be okay for the rest of the night, to watch over him like a big brother should.

"Come on, Donnie. Let's get you back in bed, and let's take care of that shoulder." Putting both arms under Donnie's shell and knees, Leo hoisted his brother up as stood and held him bridal style. As he began to walk out of the room, he stopped at the sound of a whimper his brother made. "Wait…aren't I sleeping in my bed?"

A tiny smile formed on the leader's face. He shook his head. "No, Donnie, not in your bed. You're sleeping in my bed."

Leonardo shut the door quietly and turned off the lights. Just as quickly, his Japanese-styled/Space Heroes-themed bedroom was dimly lit with the ever-glow of candles. Sighing, he made his way on the other side of the room to where his bed sat, and where the body of his brother lay. He was tucked in as tightly as he could get. Thanks to his older brother, his wounded shoulder was cleaned and freshly wrapped in new bandages. His broken arm and leg were also readjusted into comfy positions under the warm, blue covers.

Leo sat on the edge of the bed and looked solemnly at Donnie. He placed a hand on his brother's head and rubbed it gently.

"I'm so sorry, Donnie-boy…"

That nickname for Donnie hasn't been used since the boys were little. Leo knew that saying it now would effectively calm his brother down and remember that he has a family that would always stand and be by his side, no matter what.

The younger turtle moaned happily, staring through dim brown eyes at the leader in blue.

"Leo…when is it…going to be over?"

"Huh?"

"When am I going to get better? I can't…can't stand being like this anymore. I feel weak, and I failed April that night and worried all of you and…"

"Stop."

Tears were forming in Donnie's eyes again. Leo wiped them away before they could run and scooted closer to his brother.

"Don't think that way of yourself, Donnie. It isn't right. You'll only make it worse. You're strong, bro, stronger than Raph, stronger than this whole family combined. You're being strong by just laying here and waiting to get better, being patient to recover. You don't realize it, but you're the most stable of us all. You're the one who's keeping us all sane and not giving up on you. We need you to be strong, Donnie, or else this family's not gonna make it."

The addressed turtle didn't speak at first. Instead he brought out his cast arm from under the tightly-tucked sheets, them giving him discomfort and needing his arm to get some air. He sighed and said, "I wish I wasn't…" as quietly as he could, hoping for his brother not to hear. But to his luck, Leo did.

"Well, you are, little brother. Deal with it." He added a smile. "Who else would be there to function this whole lair for the family? Or to make the best gear and stuff for missions, to be the doctor of the family, the most caring and gentle, the one that thinks violence isn't the answer? The best friend of Mikey, the person Raph goes to for venting his anger, Master Splinter's assistant, April's best cuddler…" His hand reached over to pat Donnie's shoulder. "…and my brainy little brother who is always there for me?"

Donnie sighed tiredly, closing his eyes and attempting to think over Leo's words. Through the fail, he never realized how exhausted he was until now. Just closing his eyes almost caused him to pass out into the nice dark world of sleep. Yes…sleep…it was calling him, telling him to relax and enter dreamworld, where he could imagine everything that probably wouldn't happen in real life…he began seeing dizzying visions of his brothers…Leo, Raph…Mikey…Mikey bleeding on the floor, arm severed from his body…Shredder standing maliciously with blood-stained gauntlets—

"Donnie!"

Donnie gasped, his eyes snapping open, as Leo gently shook him, his expression showing obvious fear and concern for his brother. He felt Donnie's forehead, his grip on him tightening. Donnie was breathing heavily, the clouded fear coming back over his eyes.

"I-I can't, Leo…"

"Can't what?"

"I can't go back to sleep again. Everytime I close my eyes, I see you guys being attacked or…" he swallowed a dry breath, "…killed by Shredder. I just can't go back to sleep, Leo…" his voice began to fade, "I just can't…"

Leo wrapped his arms around his brother in a hug; not too hard to hurt him, but also tight enough to tell him to put his fears to rest.

"Shhh, it's okay, Donnie, it's okay. It's wasn't real, and you know it." He ran a hand over his brother's shell. "Just calm down, okay? Just breathe…" He heard a small sob escape Donnie's mouth. He held him tighter. "Shhh…what you dreamt wasn't real. This is real. I'm here for you, okay?..."Donnie's soft cries were beginning to fade as Leo put his supportive big brother grasp on him, cooing him softly and attempting to calm him down enough to sleep. Donnie was then reduced to tiny sniffles, burying his tall form into Leo's smaller. He closed his eyes tight, trying to steady his breathing. Leo stroked his back.

After another few minutes of trying to calm distressed feelings, Leo slowly and steadily loosened his grip on his brother. "You feel better, Donnie?" He asked gently. He got no answer in return. Getting a bit alarmed, he placed Donnie to face him while he gripped his shoulders. Donnie's head bobbed forward, eyes lightly closed. The leader steadied his heartbeat, realizing that Donnie had only fallen back asleep. And he was quite happy with that realization.

With the upmost of carefulness not to wake his brother up, he gently lay the sleeping turtle back down against the pillow, covering his chest with his blanket. Donnie sighed in reaction, shifting a bit before lying still again. Leo smiled. This was what he preferred to see; his brother getting the rest he needed while not experiencing anymore false nightmares. His supportive big brother charm was put to good use once again.

He bent down and his lips lightly brushed against Donnie's forehead. "Goodnight, Donnie…" Throwing the blankets forward, he climbed in next to his little brother and put the sheet back over them both. He put his hands around Donnie and held him close to his chest, listening intently to his light breathing. It was music to his ears.

The pleasant thought of sleep was invading his mind. He heaved a deep calming breath and closed his eyes, pulling Donnie's sleeping body tighter to him. The conversation he had with Raph earlier had also entered his mind before he could fully go to sleep, remembering particular harsh words the hothead had to say:

"You two have been together so long that you might as well share a bed!"

Leo chose to accept those words, though in a more considerate form. Though he didn't care at what off-league things he would do, no matter what, he would always be there for his brothers, and will do absolutely anything as long as it made them safe, comfortable and happy. And that even included sharing a bed for the night.

One last smile crept on his face as he began to unwind, closing his eyes once more and soon entering the pleasant world of sleep afterwards, with Donnie sleeping by his side.

Another long night of doing "fun" activities with her aunt had completely drained April of all energy she had left. The only way to restore it in her book was a long, much-awaited sleep.

Her aunt pulled the car up to their house's parking lot, shutting off the engine and pulling out the keys of the ignition with a sigh.

"Well!" she started, "That sure was fun, wasn't it April?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." April forced a smile before turning the other way and groaning under her breath. "If you call grocery shopping fun…"

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing!"

"Well, sweetie, help me get the groceries out of the trunk, then."

April wasn't in the right physical state to be hauling heavy bags filled with food all the way up two flights of stairs into the kitchen. Her body ached and all she wanted was sleep. But if she could afford not getting worried over by her aunt once more, she might as well get it over with.

She hopped out of the car and began gathering the lightest bags under her arms from the trunk, without her aunt noticing. Sighing, she slowly made her way up the first flight of stairs, and the longest flight at that, up to her door. She realized that the door was locked, so she asked her aunt to throw her the keys. With the smallest drop of kunoichi training she had in her arms, she was able to catch the keys before they could descend again.

She turned around and was about to put the keys in the lock when something caught her eye. Something white-a note, it looked like, was taped on the door. Some tiny-print sentence was etched into the note. She squinted her bright blue eyes to look closer…and widened back up again. She gasped, her bags thudding loud against the pavement.

"April, are you okay up there?"

It took along while for April to respond. "Y…yeah, everything's…fine…" she snatched the note from its post on the door and read it one more time, her heart racing everytime her eyes read it again:

The Foot Clan is waiting for you…

Ooooooh…what's gonna happen now? Wait and see in the next chapter coming up soon!